


Branches Refracted Across the Seamless Sky

by candy_floss_consumer



Series: A Different Wave [4]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Other, Side Stories From A Different Wave Series
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:27:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24273556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/candy_floss_consumer/pseuds/candy_floss_consumer
Summary: "Side stories about the things that happened while Sakura wasn't paying attention. Tales that may just help readers understand the changes in the people around her, and not just in Sakura."[A Different Wave: Companion Piece I][Updated Sporadically]
Series: A Different Wave [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1748218
Comments: 11
Kudos: 167





	1. Two Kids In the Woods

**Author's Note:**

> "Wave: Sasuke's Position 1/3"

**_Wave_ ** was supposed to be just one more stepping stone on his path to revenge. His first C rank mission where he would undoubtedly be recognized for his skill. Far beyond that of the fangirl and the idiot. But things changed when Kakashi went unconscious. The ‘fangirl’ became ‘Sakura,’ and the ‘idiot’ became ‘Naruto.’ Because when Kakashi collapsed, the pair showed Sasuke a side of them he thought nonexistent. A confident, capable side. And then Sakura disappeared, Naruto stayed to watch the house, and Sasuke encountered some brat in the woods. His name was Ichigo and he was eleven years old.

Ichigo had russet brown hair, was short due to malnutrition, and was dying. Despite Sasuke not asking, the boy told the Uchiha the story behind his state. Ichigo explained how his family had been going behind Gatō’s back to bring supplies into the small island country. That they had been discovered after one of his conniving cousins ratted on them to Gatō for some quick cash. Gatō didn’t wait long to make an example of them, killing them in the town square so that everyone could see what was done to ‘traitors of the Gatō Company.’ As to why Ichigo was wasting away in the woods waiting to die, the answer was simple. He tried to avenge his family alone and failed.

Ichigo was the strongest out of most of the street kids, except for one girl the kid called ‘Ahmya.’ He ignored his friends to keep them from getting caught up in the mess, working as much as a civilian could in order to get stronger. To get stronger and skilled enough to beat Gatō’s men and kill the greedy tyrant himself. Then one day, a couple of Gatō’s thugs approached one of the older girls, and Ichigo couldn’t wait anymore. He beat the goons and then headed straight for Gatō. Unfortunately, Ichigo couldn’t do much more aside from slashing the bastard over the heart. After that, Ichigo had to runaway. In hopes that he could come back and finish the job one day. Instead, he collapsed in the woods. And that’s when Sasuke found him, a few days later.

Sasuke couldn’t help himself, and asked Ichigo if the kid thought it was worth it. Spending all those years alone just to take revenge on Gatō. Ichigo’s response was quick and blunt. No. It hadn’t been worth it. Ichigo told Sasuke that anger is like a roaring bonfire. It keeps you warm, and motivates you when you feel like giving up. But when it is over, the anger dies and leaves a plume of smoke. The smoke attracts all those that cared for you, even if just for a little bit, and they are forced to witness your shriveled death. Pointless and bitter. For Ichigo, his anger had left him isolated and alone. All in the vain hope that there would be a day where revenge would no longer keep him from his loved ones. But Ichigo had never truly known how his scheme would end. And in the last few pages of his plan, blood rewrote his assumptions. Ichigo would die. There, in those woods alone with nothing but a foreign shinobi for company.

The story and Ichigo’s bitterness struck Sasuke at his core. Was this how his own plans would end? Broken and alone, certain for death? His mother’s voice whispers to him, a fragment of a terrible memory.  _ Do not end up alone, Sasuke, my precious son.  _ Sasuke physically fell back, Ichigo’s story and words of wisdom affecting him as if they were a physical blow. Wave was supposed to be just one more move toward his revenge. But he met a kid that was almost on the same path as Sasuke. Ichigo, the boy who deemed revenge a waste. And Ichigo was right. Sasuke stayed at the brat’s side until he dies, and none of the kid’s friends appear until after Ichigo breathed his last. That wasn’t the first time Sasuke witnessed death, and it won’t be his last. But the looks of intense sorrow that twisted into the street kids’ faces once they see Ichigo’s body still and cold reminds Sasuke of himself. Five years ago. When revenge was all he could think about.

But then Sasuke encountered some brat in the woods. His name was Ito Ichigo and he was eleven years old. Living—dead—proof, that whatever Sasuke had in mind was doomed to fail. Suddenly, revenge wasn’t a viable option anymore. Suddenly… Sasuke had no idea what to do anymore. His mind was empty.

Sasuke returned to training.


	2. Stones in the Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Side stories about the things that happened while Sakura wasn't paying attention. Tales that may just help readers understand the changes in the people around her, and not just Sakura."
> 
> [Updated Sporadically]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Wave: Sasuke’s Position 2/3”

**_Sasuke_ ** didn’t know what happened to Ichigo’s body after that. Well, not completely. The street kids that came after Ichiro died had simply told Sasuke that they were taking Ichiro to the burial grounds. Sasuke hadn’t known where that was, but it didn’t matter. Because even if he had, he’d been in no state to go there. Sasuke had toppled two trees with his relentless assaults, the tops from just above the midway point and up strewn across the ground. His hands bled, and the handle of his kunai gleamed with a crimson sheen. His heart and mind fought each other relentlessly.

After meeting the brat, Sasuke had been stuck in inner turmoil. Even after going back to eat dinner at Tsunami-san’s house, Sasuke was still thinking over what had happened. Other than killing his brother, he had never considered an alternative course for his life. And then, being stuck in Wave, he only had two options presented to him. To give up, or fight to live long enough to find a reason for living. A voice from his past, belonging to a female Uchiha elder, lingered in his mind. The elder’s name was Asahi, and she married into the Uchiha Clan a generation after the Founders created Konoha. She was also Sasuke’s maternal grandmother. So despite the fact that letting the memory play stung his eyes, Sasuke listened. 

_ “You live long enough to find the people worth living for. And then you try your best to keep them happy. That’s why I’m still here Sasuke-kun. To see you grown and content with you’re own life.”  _ It was one of the last things she had ever said to him. And in those dark woods, where the moonlight hardly ever filtered through the leaves, Sasuke realised one more thing. No matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise,  _ he wasn’t happy.  _ He was tired of working hard alone with no-one to acknowledge his accomplishments. No one who mattered, anyway. Tired of falling asleep cold in the prison of his own mind as if he’d never left the Compound. Tired of being alone. Sasuke sighed, rubbing at his stinging eyes.

Goosebumps rose from his skin, a cool breeze gliding past his skin. Sasuke looked up, seeing a clone of Kakashi hanging casually from a nearby branch. Using his legs. Reading his blasphemous book in what little light midnight offered. Sasuke grunted, throwing a kunai at the clone. It let the weapon make contacted and  _ poofed _ without so much as a comment. Sasuke turned to retrace his steps, subtly patting his eyes and cheeks to see if they were still wet. No one would be able to see the redness of his face in the low light of the porch lantern, so he was covered on that front.

He made it to the porch, sitting down on the steps after Kakashi motioned for him to do so. Naruto showed up not too long after, but it took Sakura a bit more time to come into sight from around the bend of the path to town. Sakura appeared tired, and her clothes were damp. Some parts, like her sleeves, were dried oddly. As if stiff with salt. There was an odd bracelet wrapped around her wrist as well. One she hadn’t had the night before, with a star shaped charm bouncing as she walked. They talked. Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura. And as they did so, Sasuke’s thoughts continued their turbulent paths.

The road of revenge is lonely, and never worth the cost.  _ To keep those you cherish happy is one of the only ways to keep on living.  _ If you toss a stone into the ocean, a tsunami will crash into shore halfway across the world. Sasuke held Sakura’s hand tightly, following Naruto up the steps. If Ichigo and Asahi-obaa-chan were the stones, then Sasuke would have to be the tsunami. And whatever shore he crashed against would be his own choice.

Not the product of the decisions made by the long poisoned minds of those he once loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I am grateful or comments, kudos, and bookmarks alike. So many kind words from my dedicated readers makes my heart skip a beat! Hope you enjoy these little side stories. One more to go until I move on to Naruto’s position.


	3. Staring Into the Glass Pyres

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Side stories about the things that happened while Sakura wasn't paying attention. Tales that may just help readers understand the changes in the people around her, and not just Sakura."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Wave: Sasuke's Position 3/3"

**_At_ ** the sight of the pyres impossibly burning over a hundred bodies to ash, Sasuke suddenly felt a keen sense of loss. None of his clansmen had revived the traditional Uchiha sendoff, at least as far as Sasuke was aware. He had been too shell-shocked, too hurt, to even think about arranging the proceedings. And by the time he had recovered enough to move back to the Compound, all the bodies were gone. Usually, Sasuke doesn’t dwell on the aftermath of the Massacre. Because if he does, then his thoughts travel down roads he would rather ignore. Questions about if they retained their eyes whisper from the back of his mind, the Uchiha himself already knowing that they probably didn’t. The village couldn’t lose such a valuable asset, after all. Sasuke breathed shallowly, using chakra to filter the smoke away from his mouth and nose.

Despite the cloying scent of burning lavender, if Sasuke focused, he could feel an intense bass sound thundering through his bones and chest. The pyre flames danced to the faint sound of island drums. Sasuke wasn’t sure if it was a genjutsu or the heartbeat of the country itself thumping against the ground from deep beneath the earth. But honestly, that didn’t matter. The fire was beautiful, and it had Sasuke’s heart aching. Abruptly, Sasuke prayed. Despite having long since lost his faith, the young Uchiha closed his eyes and clasped his hands together. He prayed to the kami of his childhood---Amaterasu, Kaguya---the deities he was taught to respect. He prayed that despite the years gone by that his clan had somehow found peace. He even prayed to the kami Kushina-obaa-san had taught his mother about. The ones that kept careful watch over the world as they sequestered themselves deep within the honden of that shrine somewhere in the Hashirama Forest.

When his prayers ended, Sasuke’s mind got stuck on the fact that Ichigo burned the day before. That just as these bodies burned, so did the bodies of dozens of children. It only served to sober him further. His eyes caught Sakura’s figure through the smoke and ash and Sasuke frowned. His thoughts swelled into a racket within his head, eventually boiling down to one thought.

_ What did it take to burn the dead? _

The Uchiha didn’t know. He knew that he would probably learn, if he was ever a hunter-nin for Konohagakure. But at that moment he was every one of his thirteen years. A genin, young and lacking true experience. And Sasuke knew he wasn’t ready to go through with something like that. The thought lingered.

_ What did it take to burn the dead? _

Only the pink-haired, civilian-born genin of his team knew the answer to that question.


	4. The Familiarity of Empty Houses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Side stories about the things that happened while Sakura wasn't paying attention. Tales that may just help readers understand the changes in the people around her, and not just Sakura."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Wave: Naruto’s Position 1/3”

**** **_Naruto_ ** had always been familiar with the atmosphere of an empty home. As in, no one being there except him. It was weird to feel that same atmosphere in a house where there were at least two other people. Cold prickled at his skin, and Naruto wrinkled his nose from the salt in the air. Both Sasuke-teme and Sakura-chan were out somewhere. Naruto hummed to himself, pinching his chin thoughtfully. The teme was probably training. Wherever Sakura-chan went, he wasn’t quite sure. But she was strong! So she probably  _ was  _ training too. Naruto stood up, the creak from the chair he was sitting in echoing. This wasn’t how he expected his first C rank to go at all.

It was supposed to be a princess! Someone important. The mission was supposed to be filled with daring escapes, saving damsels in distress, and proving his worth as a future Hokage! But instead they’d gotten some drunken old man to escort. Worse, the stupid bridge builder had called him short. Which Naruto absolutely was  _ not.  _ He just had to grow a little. Hard to get taller when all you had to eat growing up was instant ramen and whatever meagre vegetables you could grow in your windowsill. Naruto shook his head, refusing to think about it further. A moment passed. He scuffed his sandal against the ground.  _ He couldn’t do this. _

Sitting around waiting for Kaka-sensei to wake-up was worrying. And boring. Naruto was getting antsy. He couldn’t just sit around the house doing  _ nothing.  _ So he summoned a few clones and told them to watch the old man’s family, keep an eye on Kaka-sensei, and scout the perimeter. Meanwhile, Naruto turned on his heel and fled. Out the door and down the steps. Tripping over his own feet as he followed the treeline until he reached the closest shoreline to the bridge builder’s house. Naruto swallowed harshly, scolding himself.  _ He was supposed to be better than this.  _ Supposed to be ready for anything that was thrown his way. But what did that say when he hadn’t expected to find his old apartment in an old rickety house in some far-off country?

He hated it. Hated the too-cold air. How he could hear the house shifting around on its foundation. Naruto had dealt with enough of his own groaning wood. With old, dying buildings that no-one should rightfully live in. He hated how a house filled with a family was somehow empty of any of the things that came along with them. There wasn’t any laughter echoing from the living room. No sounds of someone puttering around the kitchen making a snack or even a meal. No casual talks or even a warm atmosphere. It was nothing like Naruto had imagined it to be like. A house filled with people. It felt just as lonely as Naruto himself living alone.

Naruto stared out at the water, his expression hard. Unreadable. At least, he hoped it was. Because when he was alone, he didn’t have to worry about people seeing how torn up he was inside. Didn’t have to see his loneliness reflected back at him in the eyes of some bratty kid. Inari. Naruto could relate to him. But not to the point of giving up. That was something Naruto refused to ever do. Giving up meant giving in. It meant letting life cut him down and staying down. But Naruto was going to be Hokage. And everyone was going to have to recognise his greatness.

  
Even if he worked alone.  _ Even if his home was empty. _


End file.
